Trump offers sale of 'sophisticated' weapons to S Korea, Japan

US President Donald Trump (C), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pose for photos before attending the Northeast Asia Security Dinner at the US Consulate General Hamburg on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 6, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump has said he will allow huge sales of highly sophisticated military equipment to South Korea and Japan to counter supposed threats by North Korea.

“I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

Trump's announcement of fresh arms sales followed North Korea’s testing of a hydrogen bomb on Sunday that can be placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

On Sunday, Trump spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe about Pyongyang’s test. The following day, Trump also spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in about the nuclear test.

Eventually, the US president said he agreed to increased sophisticated arms sales to its two regional allies, Japan and South Korea.

The announcement comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Tensions heightened after the US and its allies launched annual joint military exercises and North Korea launched repeated missile tests.

North Korea is under mounting international pressure over its missile and military nuclear programs and has been subjected to an array of United Nations sanctions. But it says it needs to continue and develop the programs as a deterrent against hostility by the US and its regional allies, including South Korea and Japan.

This handout photo taken on September 5, 2017 and provided by South Korean Defense Ministry in Seoul shows South Korean navy vessels taking part in a naval drill off the east coast of South Korea. (Photo by AFP)

Pyongyang views repeated US war games in the region as a sign of hostility and practice for a possible future invasion.